Broken slot machines and torn insulation remain at Casino Magic in Bay St. Louis. Click "play" to see more of the interior and hear manager John Chaszar tell a story about getting money out of the flooded casino. To see slot machines demolished after sustaining damage from Katrina, click here.
Looters in New Orleans walked away with millions of dollars worth of food, clothing, electronics and even guns after Hurricane Katrina, but a huge pile of cold, hard cash was left untouched at the Casino Magic in Bay St. Louis.
For five days, hundreds of cash-filled boxes from the evacuated casino’s slot machines stood unguarded in the wrecked hotel lobby building, vulnerable to “anyone with a sledgehammer,” said John Chaszar, senior director of resort operations.
Finally a team of Casino Magic employees came back to the property with a rental truck, power generators and shovels. As three heavily armed state troopers stood guard and a helicopter gunship circled overhead, workers dug out the cash boxes and hauled them away. When all the money was washed and counted, it came to nearly $1.4 million in bills and another $700,000 in coins, said a chuckling Chaszar.
The fact that so much easy cash could be overlooked by would-be criminals speaks not only to the virtue of the people of south Mississippi but also to the relative isolation of the city’s only casino, tucked away on a 600-acre riverside plot northwest of the town’s historic older section and several blocks off the main highway.
“We have the best situation possible,” said Mayor Eddie Favre. “We have experienced the benefits of the casino, but if you don’t know where it is you won’t find it. It has taken nothing away from the city’s charm and atmosphere.”
While the casino may be out of sight, it is never far from the minds of Favre and the city’s other political and business heavyweights. With more than 1,200 employees before Katrina, the casino was by far the biggest employer in the city of 8,200. Equally important, taxes on gambling profits and other revenues counted for about half the city’s $7 million annual general budget, sharply limiting property tax rates for home and business owners.
But that revenue stream was washed away when Katrina inundated the casino property with up to 18 feet of water, wrecking two low-rise hotel buildings, smashing several dozen boats in the marina and tossing a giant entertainment barge like a toy ship, leaving it stranded in the woods two miles across the Jourdan River.
Main barge destroyed, tower damaged
The main casino barge was destroyed, and the 14-story hotel tower was left badly damaged along with several restaurants, a 10,000-square-foot ballroom, spa and golf course. Even hundreds of warehoused slot machines were damaged and later destroyed entirely for insurance requirements.
Now, the future of the property is uncertain, although company officials say they are committed to rebuilding.
The golf course is being patched up to reopen Dec. 15, although more permanent repairs will be required next year. Officials are working on plans for a temporary land-based casino in the land-based former lobby building, which they hope to open “in the latter half of next year,” Chaszar said.
Beyond that, corporate parent Penn National Gaming has announced no plans, although there is plenty of available land to develop and officials have discussed possibilities including an expanded marina and a condominium resort complex.
Employees like advertising production manager Mary Hudson, who has been with the casino since soon after its 1992 opening, can only wait and hope the rebuilding moves ahead quickly, as she and all but a few dozen core staff members will be officially dropped from the payroll this week.
“It’s been very hard for me not being there,” said Hudson, 46. “I’m hoping they will give me a call.”
Like many casino companies, Penn National agreed to continue paying its employees for three months after the storm hit, a period that officially came to an end Tuesday.
Hudson was a divorced mother raising three children when she moved to Bay St. Louis in the early 1990s to be closer to her parents, who had retired to the area from Oklahoma. When she was offered a casino job by an executive she met in a bar she was extremely skeptical, but she followed up with a telephone call and has been at the Casino Magic ever since.
Her first job at the casino included boarding tour buses and explaining to visitors how to get their coin rolls and where to find the buffet.
“I started at $7 an hour and stepped up quite a bit to where I felt I finally felt I had made it,” she said. “I was feeling: I’m there. And it was a good feeling.”
Now remarried, she is fortunate that her husband is working but said she feels “a little lost.” Like thousands of Hancock County residents she is living in a government-issued trailer after her house was severely damaged by water from the storm.
She and her husband plan to rebuild but also are considering moving to higher ground elsewhere in the county. She felt “very close” to the casino and its staff and misses that part of her life.
“We’re in kind of a limbo state right now,” she said.
Chaszar, who manages non-casino operations at the property and is president of the county chamber of commerce, is an outspoken proponent of condominiums on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast and has ambitious ideas about development.
At a recent chamber board meeting – the first one held since Katrina – he sketched out a future in which the region would boom like Myrtle Beach, S.C., after Hurricane Hugo, with “lots of commerce, lots of golf courses.”
“I hate to say it but a lot of the opposition to condominiums has been washed away” with the storm, said Chaszar, a New Jersey native who moved to the area about four years ago to help run the casino complex.
'We can put condos anywhere'
Even if condos are ruled out along the waterfront in Bay St. Louis, “We can put condominiums anywhere we want on our property,” he said.
Mayor Favre agreed with that assessment and said he would not stand in the way of expanded development at the casino complex. The casino property is zoned for “resort” development, although no specific plans for condos or any other structures have been filed with the city, either before or since the storm.
City officials say grass-roots opposition to condominiums stems mainly from a fear that the small-town character of Bay St. Louis will be stamped out by cookie-cutter high-rise towers on the beachfront that would blot out unobstructed sunset views across the water.
The casino’s existing 14-story hotel tower is not visible from the city’s main beachfront area about two miles away.
Pressure for additional resort-type development that emerged before Katrina is likely to grow as some developers may sense an opportunity in the wake of the storm.
“I can promise you there is a lot of interest in condominium development along the Gulf Coast,” Chaszar said at the chamber meeting.
“My personal feeling is that condos are going to happen whether we like it or not,” he said in an interview. “We might as well control it.”
But as cash-starved city and county governments struggle to rebuild their tax bases as quickly as possible, they could find that balance hard to attain.
While it is far from clear what Bay St. Louis will look like five years from now, many residents can point to what they do not want: A strip of high-rise beachfront condo towers like those that line the waterfront in places like Destin, Fla., or Gulf Shores, Ala.
U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor, who lost his own Bay St. Louis home in the storm, points to Gulf Shores as a worst-case scenario – having gone from two-and three-story buildings to high-rise towers after Hurricane Frederick swept through in 1979.
“I do not want that to happen to Bay St. Louis,” said Taylor. “I will scream that from the mountaintops. Gulf Shores is a nice place to visit, but I would think it’s a horrible place to live.”
Liz Zimmerman: From cancer to Katrina
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Speaking as an Alabamian who had never seen your town until a month ago and seeing past the ruins at how lovely your city had to have been before Katrina ,I hope you rebuild it as it was.I only go now to Gulf Shores on an occasional fishing trip and vacation elsewhere.When it grew its glitter along the beach it lost its shine.
Wayne B. ,Birmingham,Alabama (Sent Nov 30, 2005 3:52:58 PM)
People of Bay St. Louis & Waveland stand together. Don't let "money" (which is the root of all evil) make you give into the greed of others who want to get rich off of the locals and bring more unwanted tourism into the area. You already compromised enough by allowing Casinos there in the first place. How much did casinos really help the area? You still have poverty areas. What have they really done for you? The only people who made money off the casinos were the people who owned the property that they built on. I remember when the casinos first opened and the banks put peoples accounts on hold because they were wiping out there accounts in hopes of getting rich quick. Some people lost homes because they spent all the money that would have paid bills. Many people and lives have suffered because of gambling. That is never talked about. (When I lived there before casinos, I personally voted against them). I have lived in Orlando, Memphis, Mobile, New Orleans and now live near Myrtle Beach. I have spent summers in St. Petersburg, Gulf Shores, Cocoa Beach, Destin, Venice and Sarasota. These places are big cities. More than 8,000 people live there. The condos and resorts are beautiful but you cannot see the water or enjoy the beach. You have to park in certain areas and walk distances to get onto the beach. It is no longer your beach. Constant traffic and tourists. Not anything like you are used to. In Orlando the locals have a "I hate tourist song" they play it on the radio. Ask anyone who lives in these areas that lived there before condos and golf course resorts and they will tell you how much they hate it and wished they would have taken a stand against it. Bay-Waveland rebuilt after hurricane Camille and you can rebuild again. Do not compromise the sanctity of the beautiful small town charm and allure for retirement and quality family life for "money". The rich get richer at the expense of others. They prey on innoccent or naive people in times like these. So many people are here to help you. Just ask or let the public know. We love you!
MB South Carolina (Sent Nov 30, 2005 3:58:42 PM)
I regret to say everything happens for a reason. I love my city of New Orleans but it took a hurricane like Katrina to wake the city up. I say that because there was too much wrong going on and not enough good. Crime at all levels from our leaders to the everyday man on the street. Race issues,sexuality issues,and the haves having much,much more than the have nots. It had to come to an end I'm just sorry that this was the outcome. Now New Orleans let's rebuild to make this city an example of how this Nation should be as One.
Steven S.,New Orleans, La. (Sent Nov 30, 2005 4:06:31 PM)
I cant say I'm sad about the casino damage. Sure, lots of workers lost their jobs, but to think of the damage that casino gaming has done to so many familys takes away any reget from me that the mississippi casinos were destroyed. This is a lesson from God- and I dont believe anyone should try to rebuild them without knowing God's wrath may be just for them.
Grace, Decatur, Alabama (Sent Nov 30, 2005 4:10:03 PM)
Out of curiosity, do the owners and managers of the Bay St. Louis casino know if the $1.4 million in cash and $700,000 in coins were really the full value of what was in the cash boxes before the storm hit? Where all the machines and cash boxes accounted for? I find it hard to believe that none were washed away or carried off to other parts of the city.
Louie, NJ (Sent Nov 30, 2005 5:23:26 PM)
Yes, Cheyenne, they wanted food, water, and shelter that very day. What a crying shame you weren't there to teach them how to starve with dignity.
Dan Partridge (Sent Nov 30, 2005 5:56:16 PM)
Bigger and better! That is what I keep hearing. You know the saying, "bigger isn't always better." I feel that the people of Bay St. Louis and Waveland don't want bigger, they just want to be better.
Daniette, Bay St. Louis, MS (Sent Nov 30, 2005 6:33:45 PM)
My husband also works for a major utility co. and he has come in many nights at midnight after 18 hrs days and told me how he was cussed and yelled at by people he was trying to help.
These work men did not cause the loss of services and people sould be appreciative of their long hours and time of away from their families.
These are the same people that lie on the couch all day waiting on their checks (that come from our taxes)or are out selling drugs to your kids.
Jennifer, MS (Sent Nov 30, 2005 7:05:29 PM)
It would be nice to get the city of New Orleans up and Runing again. But will you Keep the money or the Pay increase the same as it is now,or will they change it later? My House is still now work on and I live in the garden districk
Lou Jean Sartin New Orleans La 70130 (Sent Nov 30, 2005 7:30:00 PM)
Bay St. Louis was our vacation destination for the last 10 years. We enjoyed the casino and the surrounding area.Bay St. Louis, may you rise again from the ashes.
Lilo Beene ,Rowlett, Tx (Sent Nov 30, 2005 9:50:52 PM)
heres an idea? how about taking that money that was found and using it to continue my health insurance which i lost today. i was a casino magic employee of two and a half years and have been laied off today. im not being greedy or ungrateful that my pay was continued this long. thank you it really helped me out and easied my stresses some. i took my job at the magic for the health insurance. i was going to have my disc problem in my back taken care of the week of the storm and now i cant and wont be able to for a very long time. i am young and working my way through school. it will be very difficult for me to find another job with those kind of benifits not having a degree. where did the money that was taken out of my check for insurance go? also i was at work the night we closed the gaming floor down. why wasnt that money put in the valut? i thought thats where it went. or was that money what was in the vault. we emptied our tables and the slots were supposed to be cleared? what happened? why did i bust my hindparts to get the floor closed down if the money was not taken care of? sorry im just confused. that saturday before the storm was a nervous, crazy night if anyone knows let me know thanks!
peaches,waveland,ms (Sent Nov 30, 2005 11:55:34 PM)
I have lived in many states, from Maine to New York to California to Louisiana. I plan on moving to Bay St. Louis soon. I have been spending my weekends and vacations there for two years now. I love the small, quaint town. The people are so friendly. Reminds me of the towns in Maine. I left Louisiana before the storm and went to MS, where I always go when bad weather is headed LA way. We were wiped out -- lost the house and two vehicles, one being mine. But we are still here to talk about it. Our beautiful church, Our Lady of the Gulf, was hit very hard. But we still hold mass every weekend, first outside for a couple of weeks, now in the semi-reconstructed building next to the church. Every one is so nice -- always asking how you're doing. We all help each other. We all care about each other. So much attention was called upon New Orleans and don't get me wrong, I feel for those people who were affected, but Waveland and Bay St. Louis is totally demolished. Financial help is very hard to come by. Some people are still living in tents. We're lucky, we have a FEMA trailer, although very small for four adults, but it beats living in a tent. It will be a very long time before the cities of Waveland and Bay St. Louis are rebuilt, but when it's all over, I believe they will be stronger. People in that area are so caring, I just hope that doesn't change. I can't wait to call Bay St. Louis my home, permanently.
Nancy Lear, Paulina, Louisiana (Sent Dec 1, 2005 12:15:21 AM)
hey grace i have been waiting for someone to make that comment that you just made. thank you! first i want you to know that making the choice to gamble is your choice no one is holding a gun to the mothers and the fathers of these families who are being destroyed. should we blame beer because a man destroyes his family because he drinks it? gambling is like that beer you cant put the blame on the drink. he makes the choice to drink it and he makes the choice to gamble. i want to be very clear on this point god is not punishing mississippi because we have gambling. this storm was not an act of god! if he wanted to punish us because we have gambling why didnt he just go on and take out alantic city, vegas, north mississippi and and any other place with legalized gambling? THIS STORM WAS AN ACT OF NATURE plain and simple. hurricanes happen every year its a roll of the dice as to where they make landfall and not gods punishment. oh and god did give us free will. now let me tell you some of the things that your home wrecking casinos have done for my comunity. created jobs, tourism, cash flow, given money for the public schools, and provided recreation for our hardworking citizens and the elderly. yes you have your bad element as with EVERYTING in life. i want to thank casion magic for giving me a job and benifits, providing a fun work place and giving me a chance to prove myself. my grandfather made the same comment to me right after the storm and it is the only time i have ever talked back to him. i have a real problem with people blaming things like this on god. the next time you make a comment like that listen to your self hear how you sound. i want everyone to know that i belive in god and i am not trying to make anyone angry this is just what i belive. thank you!
peaches,waveland,ms (Sent Dec 1, 2005 12:27:52 AM)
please dont blame god for a natural disaster. katrina wasnt punishment from him or a punishment for legalized gambling.
mandm,waveland,ms (Sent Dec 1, 2005 12:30:26 AM)
I went to Destin Fla. this summer. Unless you own a condo there,there is no beach access for miles and miles. No place to park. No views of the green waters. Only CONCRETE blocks and traffic jams. The Beachfront should be available for all people to enjoy and not just a few rich people that HOG it up for themselves and then probably do not really benefit from being that close to the Gulf. All residential and commecial buildings should be restricted to the North side of the beach road, or at least 1320 ft from the waters edge, as defined by local standards.I grew up on the coast and have lived all over southern Ms.Al. and Fl. The entire area is at risk and should be managed more carefully.
Art davis , Burkesville Ky (Sent Dec 1, 2005 4:38:57 AM)
sue johnson .....we think alike....de ja vu now i don't have to say anymore
andy,booneville ms. (Sent Dec 1, 2005 8:08:13 AM)
We see ads running all over here by one particular developer claiming "we will rebuild!" - over THERE.
He calls himself "Dealmaker". You might call him "wreck your viewmaker" and "pocket all the moneymaker".
Help you guys? Yeah. Right.
I call it exploitation, and you should too.
I'm sure he's not the only one. May your fine town have the good sense to send him packing.
Karl Denninger, Niceville FL (Sent Dec 1, 2005 9:17:40 AM)
I beg to differ with those who lump gulf shores in with Destin, Orange Beach and other high rise filled beach communities. I have a condo there, across the 2 lane quiet road from the beach, and have a great view of the water. Want to see for yourself? go to www.condosatthegulf.com and click the seahorse tab. Does that look "highrise filled and overpopulated" like these ignorant posts proclaim? Get your facts straight before you slam someones community.
Anne-Marie, Gulf Shores and Albertville AL (Sent Dec 1, 2005 9:32:51 AM)
Just had to add to my own comments. Speaking of hurricanes and generosity and the like....I also resent Mr. Rep's remark based on the fact that the residents of Gulf Shores - along with a large number of condo & second home owners in Gulf Shores - gave of themselves wholeheartedly to victims of Katrina. How about showing a class & grace when you speak?!!!!!!!!!!!!
Karen, Gulf Shores, Alabama (Sent Dec 1, 2005 10:36:46 AM)
How do idiots get elected as a representative? Rep Taylor knows absolutely nothing about "living in Gulf Shores" since he's obviously never lived here.
I've met some of the nicest people on the face of the earth in Gulf Shores. We have many fine restaurants, shopping facilities, beaches, bays, lagoons, and so much family entertainment that I can't imagine a better place for a family to live.
Gene Taylor needs to think before he speaks.... but more importantly, at least have knowledge about what he is speaking.
Martin Kroll, Gulf Shores, Alabama (Sent Dec 1, 2005 11:31:42 AM)
What would Rep Taylor know about living in Gulf Shores? I've met some of the nicest people on the face of the earth in Gulf Shores. It's a "family oriented" town with plenty to do for families....
The zoo, plenty of entertainment for the kids, free concerts in the park, lots of beautiful beach, the lagoon, the bays, the canals and rivers. Top it all off with the many fine resaurants and plenty of shopping opportunities and you'll find no better place for a family to live.
Martin Kroll, Gulf Shores, Alabama (Sent Dec 1, 2005 12:05:48 PM)
As a RESIDENT of Gulf Shores, I am totally offended by the remarks of Rep.Gene Taylor, especially in view of the response of RESIDENTS of Gulf SHores to help Ms. I would like to remind Rep.Taylor that in MS 5 miles inland of the 'Casinos' you find mostly poverty and slums. I live within 5 miles of the Beach and I will put Baldwin Co. up against any County in Ms as
a wonderful place with lovely homes, up to date hospitals, churches,shopping,golf, fishing and boating. We have plentiful accesses for the citizens to the beach. Representative Taylor, you owe the RESIDENTS of Gulf Shores an apology!!
Blewwater G., Gulf Shores, Al (Sent Dec 1, 2005 12:06:16 PM)
As a RESIDENT of Gulf Shores, I am offended by Cong.Taylor's remarks.Especially after the response to help the people of MS by the RESIDENTS of Gulf Shores. I live within 5 miles of the beach and there are plenty of accesses to the Beach. I will put Baldwin Co.up against ANY Ms. County for facilities,
up to date, hospitals, churches, schools, golf courses. 5 miles from Rep Taylor's CASINOS you will find mostly poor living conditions, infrastructure, etc. Cong. Taylor, you owe the RESIDENTS of Gulf Shores an apology, in my opinion
Blewwater G (Sent Dec 1, 2005 12:16:51 PM)
As a 4th generation Baldwin County resident, I can honestly speak of the overkill of building on our coastline and can only hope that the same thing will NOT happen to the coast of MS. Gone are the days of seeing if the surf is up (unless you live in a beehive--I mean condo) or the beauty of a summer storm out in the gulf. I would just bet that any of the people that are happy with the Gulf Shores look now are "imports", not native. Most people that grew up on the coast, stay away from Gulf Shores now due to the wall to wall concrete. It is very sad. Don't let this happen MS.
DJ, Gulf Shores, AL (Sent Dec 1, 2005 1:13:07 PM)
I just want to say that in times like that prayer is the answer to all our problems if you would only beleive in him, he is our way maker,provider in the time of need he is always there for us when nobody else is, yeah I know your thinking why did he let this happen well think about it he wanted everybody to see that he aint playing.I beleive that in these times we should have came together insteed of taking stuff that has no purpose it's always going to be here but we aint as you can see. My heart goes out to the New Orleans and Louisiana survivers for being so strong in them selfs bo make it this far because to have to rebuild again is not easy but when you pray to the man up above he'll build what ever where ever and when ever.We have some people in Seattle from New Orleans and Louisiana and thay tell us how it is down there and how happy they are to be in Seattle with running clean water clothes and a car to drive on street that go all the way threw. I know now how thankful I am. I've seen the before and after pictures and it's sad to see that but how can you worry about a rebuilding casino and condos when you hardley have any people left what about jobs thats not the plan worry about peoples homes,schools for the kids and other life long dreams not know casino but that lets you know who's thinking about what and who and it shore aint the people who have nothing left.I have family in New Orleans and they just got out in time but we havent hered from them since Sept.1.Why would you want to rebuild back on water it could happen again people need to know that you just cant start building on something like that it's to soon .Seattle builds stuff on top of water and when another earthquake come It's going to wipe out the whole downtown Seattle and thats not all the whole west side because it's built on top of water you seen the sunommi thats what will happen in Seattle and we aint got know where to go either so I understand.. The only person I can blame is Bush and I might be wrong but look how he handled rita and how they got them people help, food ASAP I dont know if it was a black thang but Ray Charles can see that... If they would of helped them insteed of being scared of them cuz we black it wouldnt have been that bad we would have had the help we needed, but when your waiting for help and it never comes think about what you would do...Pray and put God first in your lifes and you will see the goodness that comes out dont let this be the reason because we all come in the world with nothing and leave with nothing. NObody knows how they feel unless it happens to you....
Stanyetta stroud Seattle Wa (Sent Dec 1, 2005 3:01:52 PM)
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